David Lee has the tough task of guarding Ryan Anderson and Nowitzki the next two games.

Photo: Jim Mone, Associated Press

David Lee has the tough task of guarding Ryan Anderson and Nowitzki...

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David Lee passes the ball under the basket in the first half. The Golden State Warriors played the Memphis Grizzlies at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

David Lee passes the ball under the basket in the first half. The...

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Golden State Warriors' David Lee scores against the Sacramento Kings during the second half of an NBA basketball game on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press

Golden State Warriors' David Lee scores against the Sacramento...

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New Orleans Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson (33) drives to the basket between Philadelphia 76ers power forward Lavoy Allen (50) and center Spencer Hawes (00) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Ryan Anderson missed New Orleans' first nine games this season because of a toe injury. He returned Nov. 16 and instantly found his home on the perimeter - he made six three-point shots against Philadelphia, scoring 26 points in 27 minutes to lead his team to a rollicking rout.

No, these aren't your father's power forwards.

Anderson, who played at Cal, personifies a striking trend in the NBA - power forwards who spend as much time beyond the three-point arc as they do on the low post. They even have a catchy nickname, the "Stretch 4," which captures the way they stretch the floor for overtaxed defenses.

The Warriors will get a firsthand look this week, as they face Anderson on Tuesday night and Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas on Wednesday night. Anderson and Nowitzki are two of the sharpest-shooting power forwards around, tall men with range once reserved for guards.

This means Warriors power forward David Lee must prepare to wander away from the basket on defense. It's becoming a frequent assignment for him, at a position where large, menacing, mostly immobile players once grappled almost exclusively on the low post.

"The game is changing," Lee said, "and I think one of the things is not telling '4s' (power forwards) they're going to be in the post all the time. Instead, teams are giving them the option to shoot mid-range shots and threes. Then the defense has to make the adjustment."

Even after going 1-for-5 from long range in a 112-93 loss at San Antonio on Monday night, Anderson is hitting 53.8 percent of his three-point shots. Nowitzki, even at age 35, is averaging nearly 21 points per game - mostly from the perimeter, as usual - and shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc.

Minnesota's Kevin Love, maybe the best example of a Stretch 4, has 96 three-point attempts in 16 games this season. That's six per game.

Even power forwards such as Lee seem more comfortable shooting 15- to 18-foot jumpers - or catching the ball there and driving to the basket - than they do planted on the low post. Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge makes his living on mid-range jumpers, as Lee was reminded when Aldridge dropped 30 points on him Saturday night.

But it's one thing to do that and another thing entirely to routinely and reliably let fly from three-point land. Nowitzki, Love and Anderson headline a new age of power forwards, big players with crazy-deep shooting skills.

"I don't think kids nowadays think it's cool to just be a big guy, go to the low post and work on your drop step," said Tom Tolbert, once an under- sized NBA power forward and now a KNBR radio host. "Somewhere along the way, the three-point shot became a lot cooler than the turnaround jump hook."

Tolbert played power forward and even center with the Warriors in the early 1990s, when then-head coach Don Nelson embraced small lineups. Golden State head coach Mark Jackson can go small these days and put Harrison Barnes at power forward - and Barnes is making nearly 58 percent of his three-pointers this season.

Nowitzki, in many ways, sparked this 21st century, big-man obsession with shooting from long range. It's unlikely to change anytime soon, given the extra space created when a power forward (or any big player) brings his defender to the perimeter.

And it's an enormous contrast with the previous generation of power forwards, when the position was defined by the muscle of Karl Malone and Charles Barkley, or the long arms and clever post moves of Kevin McHale.

"Back in the day, there were big, banging, bruising power forwards," Jackson said. "Today, it's more Stretch 4s. ... That not only puts pressure on the (opposing) power forward, it puts pressure on your entire defense."

Love offers a vivid illustration. He ranks among the league leaders in points and rebounds, and his ability to shoot three-pointers completely scrambles an opponent's defensive focus.

Lee called Aldridge and Love the league's most challenging, outside-shooting power forwards to cover; Aldridge for his mid-range game and Love for the way he stretches the defense.

"It changes the scouting report and changes the spacing of everybody on the floor when Kevin is trailing," Lee said. "If the '5' (center) runs the floor and posts up, I can usually give Andrew Bogut some help and discourage that pass in the post.

"But if a guy like Kevin Love is coming down and I'm not on him, they're going to throw the ball back to him and that three-point shot is going up. And he shoots a pretty good percentage, so it changes the dynamic and the spacing on the floor."

The Warriors will encounter a similar dilemma the next two nights against Anderson (6-foot-10) and Nowitzki (7-foot). Anderson doesn't start for the Pelicans - he's behind Anthony Davis - but he will not hesitate to launch from long range once he enters the game.

And then Lee will find himself more than 23 feet from the basket, trying to keep a hand in Anderson's face and wondering exactly what position he plays.

Rose done: Chicago guard Derrick Rose is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery Monday. B7

Tuesday's game

Who: Warriors (8-6) at Pelicans (6-7)

Where: New Orleans

When: 5 p.m.

TV/Radio: CSNBA/680

Of note: Warriors center Andrew Bogut was suspended by the league without pay for Tuesday's game at New Orleans, and forward Draymond Green was fined $20,000. Both punishments are for the players' parts in Saturday's altercation with Portland. ... Warriors center Jermaine O'Neal (right knee/right groin) could return after a four-game absence, but if he's not ready, the team will be without six of its 15 players (five injured/one suspended). ... The Warriors swept last season's series against New Orleans. It was a first since 1995-96. ... The Warriors went 4-3 while playing five of the past seven games at home. The game at New Orleans will be the first away game during a stretch of seven of eight games on the road. ... New Orleans has the least experienced roster in the league, with players who have been in the league an average of 3.6 seasons and have played an average of 163.9 games. ... The Pelicans' Anthony Davis is second in the league in blocked shots (4 per game), having twice set career highs for a game - including a nine-block effort against the 76ers on Nov. 16.